When my supervisor approached me with the task of writing a speech for one our clients to present to an array of HR departments I felt nervous yet full of excitement. Having never worked in the public relations industry, let alone any industry relative to my university study, I was thrilled to think that my work would be used in a real life situation. I am very grateful for completing my Commerce degree at Curtin due to its practicality however there is a definitely a different feeling of achievement when you enter the corporate world. This task was definitely the most enjoyable yet in my time at The Freeform and I look forward to sharing my insight into speech writing with you today.
The client that I would be preparing this speech and presentation for was 2 Planets, a specialist romantic event planning company, ultimately targeted towards FIFO workers in Western Australia. The online service is truly incredible, allowing those who work long hours or maybe just lack a little creativity a complete get out of jail free card for those last minute anniversary gifts. Their products include ready-made packages with a choice of exquisite jewellery, spa treatments, flowers and more! Whilst also offering once in a lifetime experiences such as dancing lessons, getaways and wine and dine activities. More relating to the speech that I had been asked to write was the opportunity for 2 Planets to provide handyman services to a FIFO's partner whilst he is working away.
Take a look at the 2 Planets website here!
The brief was to develop a pitch campaign that can be used in presenting the 2 Planets service to mining, oil and gas organisations with a goal towards staff uptake and company involvement, essentially by including the 2 Planets service in their Employee Assistance Programs. It has been a fair bit of time since I had written my last speech in Public Relations Techniques 220, so this called for me to revisit the key skills.
A speech - to be effective - must:
- Be designed to be heard, not read.
- Use concrete language.
- Demand a positive response.
- Have clear-cut objectives.
- Be tailored to a specific audience
(Seitel 2004, 432).
Taking all these '5 musts' into account, I began researching the audience, objectives and most importantly the speaker, as another important skill of speech writing is to get inside the skin of the speaker, as your words must match his/her personality. I have learnt a great deal during the process of this task, including gaining an insight into world of mining, oil and gas, the FIFO lifestyle, speech writing and much much more!
Until next time...
Thank you for reading!
Rachel Chandler
